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However, Howard, who works for a security firm and said he may lose his job, claimed his ex was not a victim.

He said: 'There's a statement from a neighbour about her shouting at me in the street.

Howard was spared jail when he appeared at Stockport Magistrates' Court (pictured) but given a community punishment order

'She wasn't frightened, she was confident.'

Magistrates ordered Howard to do 120 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation activity.

He was also told to pay £100 compensation and £520 costs, and has a restraining order for 12 months which bans him from having any contact with his former girlfriend and her mother, going to their home, posting about her on the internet and visiting her workplace.

THE NEW 'REVENGE PORN' LAW: PROTECTING VICTIMS FROM ANGRY EX-PARTNERS... AND THEIR SMARTPHONES

New laws to tackle 'revenge porn' were introduced in England and Wales in April (posed by model)

New laws to tackle 'revenge porn' were introduced in England and Wales in April this year after the phenomenon of sharing intimate photographs of someone, usually a former partner, without permission became increasingly widespread with the rise of smartphones.

The new law defines revenge porn as 'photographs or films which show people engaged in sexual activity or depicted in a sexual way or with their genitals exposed, where what is shown would not usually be seen in public' and which are distributed without the person’s consent and with intent to cause embarrassment or distress.

Anyone spreading such images and footage online, via text or email, or showing another person the physical image can now be jailed for up to two years.

Campaigners for the new law making revenge porn illegal hope that the new legislation will deter people from posting sexual photos and videos on the internet without consent.

Previously there had been no specific law banning revenge porn, with prosecutors attempting to press charges against perpetrators having to use a range of laws including the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, parts of the Communications Act 2003 and the Malicious Communications Act 1988.

Speaking at the time the new legislation was introduced, then Culture secretary Maria Miller said: 'By putting this in place, the government has given young women the opportunity to protect themselves from their lives being blighted.

'When you speak to the victims of these crimes, many say that it feels as if you’ve been virtually raped.'

Prime Minister David Cameron had supported the law during a debate in the House of Commons last July, describing revenge porn as a 'dreadful' and 'appalling offence' that 'clearly has criminal intent'.

So far, around a dozen men have been convicted under the legislation in England, while Paige Mitchell, 24, yesterday became the first woman to be sentenced after she posted naked photographs of her girlfriend onto Facebook after a row. She was handed a suspended jail term.

Last month, 21-year-old Jason Asagba was believed to be the first person convicted of posting 'revenge porn', after he admitted to posting, texting and emailing intimate photos of a 20-year-old woman without her consent. He is due to be sentenced later this week.

David Jones, 53, from Birkenhead was jailed for 16 weeks after posting 13 sexual photographs of an ex-girlfriend - which had been taken 20 years ago - on social media and porn sites.

Sean Pinkney, 44, had posted a photograph of his ex-girlfriend on Facebook and leaving it there for four hours. She only realised what had happened when she went to pick up her children from school the following day and was told by another mother what had happened.

Pinkney, from Swinton, Greater Manchester, was jailed for 20 weeks by a magistrate who described his actions as ‘a gross breach of trust’.

Last week, Joshua Brook, 21, was given a restraining order and ordered to carry out community service by Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court after sending intimate pictures of a former girlfriend to her father, brother and new partner.